BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had nine of his 14 in the final quarter to lift the Boston Celtics to a 91-89 win over the struggling New York Knicks on Friday night.
Kevin Garnett finished with 15 points and eight boards for the Celtics, who won for the seventh time in eight games.
Carmelo Anthony scored 26, Tyson Chandler had 20 with 11 rebounds and Amare Stoudemire had 16 with 11 rebounds for the Knicks. New York lost for the 11th time in 13 games.
Garnett grabbed his 10,00th career defensive rebound early in the second quarter, becoming the third player in NBA history to reach that mark. He’s behind former Celtic Robert Parish (10,117) and Karl Malone (11,406).
Boston point guard Rajon Rondo returned after missing the previous eight games with a right wrist injury, but was ineffective, scoring just seven points and getting seven assists.